The Punks are Alright!

After watching the movie "The Punks are Alright!" I have a knew perspective on the youth cultures in Brazil and Indonesia. Having grown up in a safe, middle class suburban neighborhood, I never really understood the pull of the punk style/movement. The fashion and the music don't really appeal to me. However, the movie did a fantastic job of portraying the different realities of life in a developing country.
In Brazil, the drug cartels run the cities. Children are recruited from a young age to sell drugs rather than go to school. There are no real prospects of a "future" as we define it in America. Brazilian children rarely grow up to be doctors or lawyers like American children expect to do. Often youths are killed on the streets and if they do reach adulthood, they will most likely be controlled by the cartels. The drug wars fought in the streets of Brazil consume the existence of many Brazilians.
Life in Indonesia is similarly bleak. The documentary shared the story of Dolly, a poor factory worker living in Indonesia. Dolly spends two hours each morning commuting to work via four buses and a significant amount of walking. His work is hard, his boss verbally abuses him, and he makes only $2.65 each day. There is a huge discrepancy between the rich and the poor; there are extravagant hotels with people starving on the streets only a few hundred yards away. In both countries, the government is corrupt and unable to care for its people and crime is rampant.
The artists interviewed in the documentary react to this bleak reality with the punk movement. The artists use punk as a way to go against society and create space for new ideas counter to the entrenched ways of thinking. What we know as developing countries are essentially the places where capitalism has failed; first world countries use the third world countries for cheap labor and resources, resulting in the developing countries being controlled by the West and not being able to care for their own people. The punk movement was started to protest capitalism. The artists in the documentary even expand the definition of punk to envelop all Do It Yourself efforts. The Blind Pigs artist in Brazil describes the efforts of a community to start a school for its children. The community built the school and runs it in an effort to provide hope and a possibility of a future for the children. The children teach themselves English and familiarize themselves with how to use computers.
This movie changed my perception of punk because in these developing countries, punk becomes a source of hope; people taking initiative to improve their own lives because their governments cannot help them. For some people like Dolly, punk is all they have. Dolly describes punk as "the remedy to my sickness."
I can relate to the artists frustration with religion. Both the singer in Brazil and the drummer in Indonesia said they would prefer not to talk about religion. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world and Brazil has the largest Catholic population in the world, however, both singers shy away from talking about religion because of the religious extremism in their countries. I am a fairly religious person but I try not to discuss religion if I can avoid it because some of the same extremism and judgement exists even in America. Henrike described the baptism of his son and spoke of how some older women made the cross when they saw him. His response really resonated with me because he said "That's not what it's about." Everyone should be welcome and accepted in a Church or Temple or Mosque in spite of any differences they may have. I don't understand how people can start wars in the name of religion. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all share a common history, some of the prophets are even the same. With such fundamental similarities as these, I am frustrated that people cannot find respect and tolerance for other people.
 I also have deep respect for these artists because of their DIY attitude. They see a problem in their community so they come up with a solution and carry it out. In such violent and daunting environments it is easy to give up just trying to find a way to survive. However, these artists are forcing society to listen to them and are fighting back to improve their quality of life.
Because I live in a capitalist country, what I do can effect the global community. For example, by buying DIY products in my community rather than buying products from large corporations, and if a large number of people boycott large corporations, they can be forced to produce locally rather than overseas where there are no labor laws, resulting in third world countries being forced to look inwardly and care for their own people rather than Western countries. But even more than that, being aware and educating other people about the issues around the world can help start up movements to fix the issues whether through economic or political means. In addition, learning about other cultures and gaining respect for them can help third world countries to gain self-respect and embrace their own traditions rather than trying to westernize. The artists in the film share my view that DIY movements can have a significant impact on a community, and if allowed to grow, an entire society.